RALEIGH, N.C. — Tow trucks are not always the fondest sight most of the year. But during snow, those big trucks turn from unsavory to saviors.

There were hundreds of cars abandoned Wednesday night. Thursday morning, some of the roads looked more like parking lots. A lot of drivers like Matt McKinney spent most of the day trying to get their wheels going in the right direction.

"I've never really had a problem with snow. This is like a process," he said.

McKinney said he was lucky that he's got two good-natured friends to help dig him out of his mess.

"So, we just decided to make an hour or two out of it and try to get it out if we could," he said.

After three tries with the rope, they almost gave up, but instead, they decided a little old-fashioned back-breaking work was probably their best bet and they were right.

"I guess that's better than AAA," McKinney said.

If you left your car on an exit ramp or if it's in the path of a snow plow, it will get towed, but Raleigh police are calling owners of the cars, giving people a chance to get it out on their own. If it has to be towed by the city of Raleigh, you are looking at a minimum of $85.